The Physician of the Soul: Medicine and Practical Ethics in Galen (360G-Wellcome-208106_Z_17_Z)

This project aims to shed light on Galen’s role as a moralist and soul-doctor, an aspect of his intellectual profile that has been little studied and poorly understood. To that end, it proposes to examine for the first time in a holistic manner his psychological and ethical works alongside a large number of technical tracts – both medical and philosophical – that have moral and/or moralising elements and connotations. The ultimate goal will be to give prominence to the dynamic interdependence between medicine and practical ethics in its historical, social, and cultural context. Key questions are: How does Galen adjust his moral agenda to the needs and requirements of contemporary elite life? How does he communicate his ethical teachings and whom is he addressing? What techniques does he employ in assigning himself moral authority and how successful are they on different occasions? The project will place Galen firmly in the tradition of philosophical writing on the therapy of emotions, therefore also helping us to properly reassess his influence on later Arab moralists-cum-physicians. On another level, the project will be the starting point for more in-depth research on the reception of Galenic (and not just Hippocratic) medical ethics in modern medicine.